When we visit websites, we have the option to tell that website who we are by signing up for their service, or logging into their dashboard. And it’s been this way since I can remember browsing the web in the late 90s when “You’ve Got Mail” was a household saying.

But Facebook is changing the way we interact with the internet by allowing websites to know who you are before you ever fill out any information on that site. It’s called Instant Personalization, and while it’s not taking the web by storm thanks to Facebook learning from previous poorly-planned product launches, it is surely a representation of the future of the web.

Instant Personalization allows a website to know who you are prior to telling it, based on information Facebook has given that website about you. Some people will view this is a huge improvement to their internet experience because their favorite website can now make it effortless for that person to get the most out of it. Rather than having to register and log in, recommendations from your friends and family will greet you upon visiting the website.

Pandora Internet Radio's Instant Personalization Messaging

Others feel that this is a privacy consideration, and that there’s no reason for a website to know things that we don’t actively tell it. Facebook learned a lesson or two when it comes to privacy. This time around, they’ve taken good measure to accommodate the private person. The New York Times has a straightforward walkthrough on how to opt out of the new feature.

For those of us with reservations, it’s not totally necessary to opt-out at this point. The social networking giant carefully chose three partners to launch Instant Personalization. Only three websites have access to the Facebook tool at this point: Yelp, Pandora, and Microsoft’s Docs.com.

Inigral feels Instant Personalization is going to dramatically improve your experience with the internet, helping you to evaluate new sites and new content by customizing it using information about your friends and interests.  We just want you to know, that way if a story breaks about the next big privacy scare you’re prepared and know what’s coming.

Read about Facebook’s partnership with Y-Combinator to expand Instant Personalization here.